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by Nicolas Crossworth
Summary: A brief story narrating the daily life of the CPU of Lowee in the alternate dimension in which she picks up her pen instead of her hammer.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This story may have spoilers for HD Victory. Proceed at your own risk. All characters, setting, and source materials belong to their respective owners. **

* * *

Lowee, one of the oldest nations to be made in Gamindustri was currently experiencing a long time of peace. Of course before one would become confused, it would be better to specify that this was the Lowee of the past or alternatively, the Lowee of the other dimension. A huge nation surrounded by beautiful mountains and a sea of orange trees, the mere sight of it could give one an easterly feeling. Elegant structures of the color red and white stood within the capital and the various waterways only contributed to the scenery's beauty.

The Land of Old Serenity as the elder ones affectionately named it. It used to be the leading nation in the Gamindustri of this timeline, however with the rising powers of the nations of Lastation, Leanbox and Planeptune, competition was at an all-time high. Yet despite that, the four nations had good relations seeing as how they aided one another in the Seven Sages Incident. Console marketing may be one of Lowee's strong points but another one of its strengths is its tourist spots, making it an ideal place for a vacation.

Within the central Basilicom's head office, the sound of a pen scratching was the only thing that could be heard. Sitting before an open paper door was a girl dressed in a red skirt and white jacket with large sleeves, a large stack of papers propped up on either side of her. She was working diligently on a low elegant black table, giving the papers a glance before signing them.

It's been a quiet day for Lowee's very own CPU, Lady White heart. There was nothing else to do but approve all of these contracts from the neighboring nations for trading. The only thing that annoyed her was the half-assed requests Planeptune's CPU was sending to her. Asking things like if she wanted a hug, if she would like to go out and play, and if she would like to eat dinner in Planeptune all in formal letters! Naturally, Lowee's ever composed CPU froze and crushed them without second thought.

A sigh escaping her lips, she wondered how whimsical that girl could get. Her mind processed the information of every paper she grabbed from the pile on her right while her limbs worked in autopilot. This may come off as an aftereffect of the days where her nation was sunk in problems. It was only thanks to the efforts of her fellow CPUs were those days behind her. Good thing she settled her debts though, it would've been a pain to have one of those in the present. Helping out and resolving the Seven Sages Incident helped her come out Scott free, and maybe gain a few friends along the way.

Her hand then came to a stop, her eyes fixed on the paper before her as she spoke, "What do you want, future me? I guess we really are different if you'll just hide there."

"There was no need to call me out. I was just about to come out myself," said another girl whom entered the room through a sliding door. This person was the spitting image of the girl sitting between the two piles of paper, the only difference between them was their clothes. The same brown hair, dull blue eyes and flawless skin, one might mistake them as twins.

This new girl wore a different styled cap on her head of the same color as her white dress and jacket. Fur was attached at the edge of her jacket, possibly to keep her warm from the cold weather rather than as an accessory. Her powder blue sandals clacked against the tatami floor a she approached her alternate self while crossing her arms.

"You didn't answer my question," pointed out the past Blanc with a hint of irritation, "Why are you here?"

The future Blanc replied in her usual monotone, "I've decided to take a vacation. I've left Mina in charge of the processing of the projects back home. Sometimes I just need to get away from all of that noise."

"Hearing that from myself sounds a bit disappointing,"

"Is that so? Well you better do your best not to turn out like little old me."

"I probably will. There's more work that needs to be done and I don't have the leisure time to sit around."

This little dialogue somehow made a little anger vein to appear on the future Blanc's forehead, "Hey, hey, hey… Are you trying to piss me off?"

"If you've come to vent out your frustrations on my peaceful land, then I'll have to advise you to leave my territory," said the past Blanc with an obvious smirk on her lips.

The CPU of the Land of White Serenity gritted her teeth before inhaling a deep breath and counted to ten. It was what Mina always reminded her with whenever she was about to blow up. At most times it worked, like right then in which she was able to regain her composure while replying, "There will be no need for that. Besides, I did say that I was on vacation didn't I?"

"The why didn't you bring the twins with you?" questioned the CPU of the Land of Old Serenity in a curious tone, unknowingly starting to approve contracts once again.

"The brats are with Nepgear, being with that girl would keep them busy until my day off is over. I can't think straight with them ticking me off every fifteen minutes," the future Blanc fumed as she sat beside her counterpart. Leaning over, she decided to have a look at what her other self was working on and was forced to resist a snort, "What the hell is with these requests? Planeptune's CPU giving you a headache?"

"You don't know the half of it," growled the past Blanc as she grabbed the paper out of her counterpart's hands and crushed it, "I'm going to have to talk to Plutia one of these days. It's getting really annoying and it's only adding up to my workload."

"Then if may I suggest, why don't you just get people to help you instead of becoming Noire's expy?"

"Been there, done that, look at what happened to that fat bastard I told you about…."

"Ah… Him… I get your point but if this goes on you'll lose your marbles. How long do you think you've been going like this?"

"Three weeks."

There was silence for few seconds. The CPU of the Land of White Serenity stared dumbfounded at her counterpart while her lips parted, "You're kidding, right?"

"I see no reason why I should," muttered the CPU of the Land of Old Serenity, tilting her head from left to right, creating an audible crack, "You're being awfully sympathetic. Did something happen?"

The future Blanc let out a snort as she crossed her arms, "I just don't want my alternate self to be reduced to an inefficient little machine. You'll turn numb and everything will hurt all over. Soon, you're going to screw up and everyone will start yelling at you which in turn cause you to yell back. Then the mob will start to form and everyone will be getting pirated chips from the opposition which'll make you—"

"Alright, alright, I get it! I'll take a week off, happy?" growled the past Blanc as she gripped her pen with enough force to snap it in half, "Now get your ass out of here before I do something stupid."

"You should get some sleep. The bags under your eyes look disgusting. Take a good long nap or else you won't grow taller," continued her counterpart in perfect monotone. Her face betrayed no expression yet deep within her, she was smirking. She considered this as a payback for what her other self did to her earlier.

"I don't want to hear that from you! You damned hypocrite, why don't you just get out?!" yelled the past Blanc, launching her pen like a throwing knife which her alternate self easily dodged.

The future Blanc merely cracked a smirk while saying, "I'll get out when I freaking want to. Besides, you're not the boss of me."

"Gah, you wanted me to relax, right? How could I start relaxing when you're being so goddamned annoying?" groaned the CPU of the Land of Old Serenity. She slapped a palm on her head as she fell back first into the floor. Her eyes fixed on the ceiling, her stiff shoulders began to relax after hours of relentless work. She then grumbled as she realized that her other self was right, she had been working her body over the limit and she didn't even realize it.

She heard her counter part's footsteps grow fainter and fainter behind her before finally disappearing. A sigh escaped her lips as she struggled to organize her buzzing mind. Her eyes felt heavy as the lack of sleep started to weigh down on her, she figured that not sleeping for days on end wasn't the best idea she had. It was during times like this that she wanted something to drink, her throat felt so dry it hurt. She cursed herself for allowing her body to be reduced to such a state.

Maybe she was starting to rub off Plutia and her idiocy because of all of those times they spent together. If inly her mind wasn't crammed with so much work and projects then she would be able to do her job more efficiently. Now that she thought of it, her counterpart had a point.

She just laid there staring at the ceiling as the minutes ticked by. She could've sworn that she dozed off a bit just before she was startled awake by a sound just beside her head. Rising up from her prone position, she turned her head to the right and found a cup of tea sitting beside her. She took a sip from her drink and fixed her eyes on her other self sitting at the porch. Without thinking, she approached her mirror image and sat beside her, staring into space for a few moments before sipping her tea simultaneously.

A cricket chirped somewhere near the rock pond when the future Blanc decided to break the silence, "You need a hobby…"

"What kind?" asked the past Blanc in the same monotone.

Her alternate self scratched her chin while replying as if deep in thought, "Something that will suit you. None too stressful or tiresome, something quiet where you'll be able to do it even while you're working, maybe something that I'm interested in too?"

"Well, we're more or less the same person," said the CPU of the Land of Old Serenity, "If you like something then there's the chance that I'll be curious too. However unless you have some strange hobbies then please leave me out of it."

"That's not what I meant!" yelled her doppelganger.

Raising her hands in surrender, the past Blanc then said, "Very well… What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of something along the lines of literature," replied the future Blanc with a bashful expression, "You know… reading books… understanding them… And maybe try your hand in writing…"

"Writing, huh? Hmm, well I am good at signing contracts…"

"It's not like that. More like, you'll make a story and put it on paper. See if anyone would like to read it and stuff."

"Is that so? Well, I am aware of various authors and writers in my nation, but I've never really paid much attention to them. How about you? Do you write?"

"Hell yeah, I do! Not too much people enjoy it though."

"So you suck."

"If I suck, then you'll suck too!"

"I'll think about it."

"Eh?"

The CPU of the Land of White Serenity stared at her counterpart with raised eyebrows. Now this was an unexpected answer. Being herself, she determined that her doppelganger would reply a flat no and return to work. Then again, as much as this person was similar to her, they were not the same.

"Give me a month. I'll write up something fantastic," said the past Blanc, a challenging smile spreading across her lips.

"Hmph, alright then," the future Blanc stood up and walked away, causing her other self to raise her eyebrows in confusion.

"Leaving so soon?" she asked.

"You'll need a lot of practice. I learned this once from Mina, you should probably get to work. See ya around, other me."

The remaining CPU watched as her alternate self disappeared behind a paper door, leaving her all alone outside. Staring at the path where her other self was, a small sigh escaped her lips as she massaged her forehead. Just what did she get herself into now? Her eyes turned at her unfinished paper work as her uneasy expression turned into a smile. She was officially on leave; these things could be put on hold for the next month. She would think about solving it then.

Right now….

"Let's see… A prince saving a princess from the demon king…. Simplistic, but it's a start…."

She picked up her fallen pen and slid the door behind her.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky and the people walking around only increased by the minute. Most of Lowee's residents matched its theme by wearing traditional garbs made by the local clothing stores. There were a few exceptions with a few people having decided to wear some fashion trends from the surrounding nations. Of course, none of these mattered since everyone was pretty much free to do what they want. Another thing was that Blanc didn't care.

She navigated through the crowd of people with a white plastic bag hanging from her right. She looked like she was lost in her own little world as her eyes stared into space while her feet took her to her still unknown destination. In fact, she had been walking aimlessly for fifteen minutes ever since she bought her tangerines. She had no idea why she bought it or why she still kept walking without purpose, but she just felt that if she stayed holed up in her Basilicom doing nothing then she would have wasted her precious time. It was rare for her to actually sit back and relax.

Problem was that there was so much buzzing in her head that she found it impossible to relax. The words of her counterpart continued to bounce within her mind like crazy. To write a story seemed simple at a first glance yet after trying it for herself, she found out that anything she made looked horrible. She realized this after comparing a book her other self gave her with her own creation, they were exactly the same! Could this mean that she noticed something her future self could not? Maybe this was a chance to save all of mankind from that horror. The True Goddess may be giving her a chance to change her ways.

A sigh escaped her lips as she thought more about her alternate self's idiocy.

Thinking up of a story was a challenge too; she had canned all of her ideas after her first failure. She needed some inspiration, maybe someone who could help her in this kind of field. Unfortunately, she was mostly acquainted with troublesome individuals who are either too busy or too lazy to help her out. Then again, there's that fat guy but she figured he'll only make things worst with his mindset.

"This is hopeless," she sighed as she scratched the back of her head. Looking around, it was quite surprising on how her own citizens ignored her presence. She figured that she was well known for her HDD form unlike her normal form. It didn't seem like the general populace of her nation was aware of her human side so there was no point in making brash actions of making them respect her whenever she's around. It sounded something like that sadist CPU or Noire would do, but then again she didn't care.

That was when she bumped into someone. Looking up at the person's face, her lips parted and uttered a word, "Sorry."

"No, it's okay, I wasn't looking where I was headed," replied the stranger with an awkward smile. The person she collided with was a girl with jet black hair, her head hidden underneath a hood as she had her hands tucked within her jacket's pockets. The strange girl glanced behind her as if looking for someone before turning back to Blanc, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to get going. Sorry again."

The CPU could only stare at her as she disappeared into the crowd as if she was being chased by someone. It turns out that the Goddess' guess was correct as someone walked right out of the place where the girl came from. It was another young woman with neon blue hair, a wide brimmed pointed hat sitting on top of her head as her white coat flowed behind her as she walked. Her steps were hurried and filled with purpose; Blanc could notice her gritting her teeth while her knuckles were white as she held what seemed to be a long stick.

This blue haired girl walked by the Goddess without as much a glance, yet Blanc still managed to hear fragments of her growling, "Damn, that person. Making things hard for me like this. I'll get her this time…"

Perplexed at the sudden events, the CPU could only stare at the two people whom just passed by. Now that wasn't something she saw every day, and that was saying something given how this was Gamindustri. The closest thing she could think of at the moment was if those two girls were having some sort of lovers quarrel. Now at that thought, a light bulb seemed to have been lit on her head. She wondered if her other self dabbled into romance whenever she wrote. She didn't want to make anything cheesy so the best choice she would have would be some research.

"Right," she muttered quietly to herself, "The library it is… There's gotta be something there… anything at all…"

Blanc turned her head towards east and walked towards her destination. It shouldn't take her long to get there.

…..

….

…

"What do you mean it's closed?"

"We apologize, but the entire library is currently going under renovations. It would be quite a while before it will be open to public."

To say that Lady White heart was irked would be an understatement. She pissed, very much so that she could level an entire street. She hid all of that rage behind a stoic expression yet the veins appearing on her forehead while her clenched fists trembled. The first time she goes to her own city's library and then something unfortunate happens, talk about bad luck.

She stood before a plain white building with marble wall and glass doors, a sign saying 'closed' propped up just beside the entrance. She was just lucky enough to encounter the one managing the place before she hunted down the manager herself. Turns out while the library was being renovated, it seemed like someone had bought it off for the day for 'research' purposes. This only pissed off Blanc more to know that there was someone brazen enough to buy off the entire thing for a day.

It was a public building; to suddenly do such a thing was unacceptable!

Gritting her teeth, she did her best not to let her anger become obvious while asking, "When will it be opened?"

"Tomorrow at best, three weeks at worst, miss," replied the attendant in high accommodating tone.

_**BOOM**_

"Make that four weeks," continued the attendant while scratching her cheek. She retreated a step when she found the CPU's face within an inch of hers.

Blanc then muttered in a low tone while keeping her eyes fixed on the girl before her, "You wouldn't mind if I checked that, would you?"

"B-But m-miss! We can't let in unauthorized personnel since it's too dangerous!" stammered the attendant while quivering under the titanic aura of such a small girl.

"You w_ouldn't_ mind, right?" repeated the CPU as her eyes flashed with a pink and red color while the air around her hummed with energy. At this point, the girl before her seemed to have realized who she was talking to and immediately cowed.

"E-Eep! I'm sorry! I-I didn't realize!" she squeaked as she kept retreating backwards, "I-It's okay! You can enter now! P-Please forgive me!"

_**BOOM**_

Another explosion within the building caused a light tremor to pass beneath their feet. The Goddess then relaxed and breathed a sigh before approaching the glass door. Glancing behind her she said, "Come with me, I don't know the interior of this place so I might get lost."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" replied the attendant with a helpless look on her face. The two of them entered the establishment without encountering any explosions. There were a lot of questions floating around the CPU's head like what kind of person would buy off an entire library, why would they do such a thing, and what was up with these explosions however dealing with whatever's obstructing her road to success in writing was her top most priority.

She strolled within the powder blue corridors with a normal pace. Despite not stepping foot into the establishment before, she seemed confident on the path she was taking. Blanc assumed that she was headed the right way since the attendant behind her hasn't uttered a single word, or maybe the poor girl was too afraid to say anything. She eventually came across a pair of closed brown doors three heads taller than her. This must've led into the main building just after the reception desk she passed by.

There was the distinct smell of gunpowder and sulfur coming from beneath the gaps of the doors. With an irritated look on her face, Blanc lifted her foot and kicked the doors open. She was immediately greeted by the sight of the countless numbers of books stacked within rows upon rows of blue shelves. It wasn't exactly big but this was the first time she had witnessed this kind of amount of books in one place. She would've been impressed if it were not for the excessive amount of smoke filling her vision.

She was able to make out the silhouette of a person moving within the gray curtain, prompting her to raise her hand and swing it deliberately to the side. The wind immediately picked up and blew every bit of smoke into oblivion, she heard the attendant behind her yelp at the sudden display of power. The Goddess narrowed her eyes at the person emerging from the dissipating smoke.

"Did I make it clear to you people that I would be performing some very important research right now? I would appreciate it if you lot ceased disturbing me over every little thing," complained a sharp voice which came from a young woman with long blue hair.

"And the last time I checked this was a public building open to everyone. Just who do you think you are 'buying' it for the day?" countered the brown haired girl in an annoyed manner. She crossed her arms and huffed as she continued, "If you're only here to cause inconvenience then it would be best for you to leave before things get messy."

The blue haired girl tilted her head to the side before releasing a sigh. She reached for a large pointed hat on the table and placed it on her head. Giving the Goddess an indifferent look, she then said, "Oh, a CPU. That's quite the mouth you have there. My name is Mages, a practitioner of the arcane arts and I am currently conducting an important research that is relevant to my goal."

"Like I care. You better get out cause you're just polluting the air," shot back the Goddess with an uninterested look.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," replied Mages as she turned her back towards the CPU, "I have a lot of things to do and they must be done with all haste. I can't afford wasting any more of my time."

_**BANG**_

The blue haired girl's eyes traced the source of the sound to her desk. She wasn't the least surprised to see Blanc standing right next to the table she had her materials on and she didn't even seem fazed when the Goddess had her fist digging into the wood. She merely stared at the girl advancing towards her with an all too obvious false smile.

"I'm getting reeeaaaal pissed off here. The way you act all high and mighty right now, it kinda makes me want to take a leaf out of Planeptune's CPU and teach you a lesson in manners. I am on a tight schedule now so I too can't afford any time wasted, and I'm not about to let some stuck up magical girl like you stop me from using this library! So why don't you just pack up and play professor someplace else!" Blanc's calm tone slowly increased in volume up to the point where she was yelling.

Mages blinked twice before scratching the back of her head while saying, "Your fuse is short just like your height…"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY—?!"

The Goddess' yelling was cut short the moment the witch lifted her finger and cast an inaudible spell. She suddenly lost her voice the moment the spell took effect. Her hands reached for her throat as she tried her hardest to produce a sound, only to be met with complete futility. She shot the blue haired girl a deadly glare with the aura of a hurricane ready to demolish a wooden house.

But before she could even do much as move a muscle, Mages' lips parted as she spoke, "To prevent any further conflicts, I suggest that we stay out of each other's way."

This made Blanc blink in surprise at her words. It was only for a short moment yet she managed to retain her foul mood which caused her to frown at the girl before her.

Taking this as a sign to go on, the witch then continued, "I will continue my work as per normal; however I will have to reduce the effects of my experiments to prevent any unnecessary distractions on your end. I'll allow you to do whatever you want should you choose to stay here but in return you must not disturb me. Simple is it not? This way there will be no annoying shouting or explosion, plus the library will be able to serve its purpose."

With a snap of her finger, she gave the Goddess her voice back. The CPU coughed and hacked while patting her chest, uttering a low growl as she replied, "You? Allow me? Miss, are you even in your right mind? I'm the ruler of this entire nation, you have no right to boss me around or strike bull crap deals like this to me! I can do whatever the hell I want, when I want!"

"But by saying those kind of things, don't you think that's unbecoming of a wise ruler? If the people were to know of this…" Mages smirked as she pocketed a pen like object into her coat, "It would be big trouble…"

Dumbstruck as her brain processed what just happened, Blanc did everything she could to restrain herself from needlessly attack the witch in front of her, "Why…. You…. Little shithead… "

"I think we've come to mutual understanding. Now, I believe this little conversation is over. I'll have to get back to work than argue with illiterate monkeys," with that, the blue haired girl went to her station and buried her face behind a book.

The Goddess stood rooted on the spot, her lips trembling in her barely controlled rage. She gnashed her teeth as she fought to keep her breathing normal while her eyes were fixed on the book the witch was holding. If looks could cut, then the book wouldn't be the only one torn to shreds. She then muttered as quietly as possible to herself, "This… Is why I hate DLC characters… Stupid game breakers… Illiterate? I'll show you illiterate, you arrogant bitch."

She moved her legs and stormed off into a random section, muttering darkly to herself as she completely forgot her purpose of being in the building. Then again, she'll remember it later soon enough once she had calmed down.

Mages lowered her book to watch the CPUs retreating figure disappearing behind a shelf. She placed her cheeks on her palm while saying to no one in particular, "Well this is an interesting turn of events… I need to hurry… Looks like I got caught up in something complicated."


	2. Chapter 2

That was the first day Blanc spent within that building. Hours went by as she began to read books about writing while taking down notes on ideas she gained while reading a couple of novels. She somehow understood the joy her other self had when reading. Everything was so quiet that she could allow her imagination to take flight whenever she wished, it was such an amazing feeling rather than working all day without pause. On another note, reading somehow allowed her to organize her thoughts and gave her ideas on how to run her nation by looking at the faults of the government within one of the stories she read.

She would find herself in some fantastical land filled with everything she liked, a utopia where she would be able to live peacefully without having to work. She somehow felt a little jealous of Planeptune's lazy CPU's attitude towards work. Sometimes she would wonder if she hadn't found that memory chip and didn't turn into a Goddess. Living without the burden of carrying the weight of a nation would be nice, but if something like that were to happen then she wouldn't have been able to meet all of her friends. With that in her mind, she just brushed it off and continued reading.

Her time would've been peaceful had it not for the small explosions she kept hearing at the other end of the library. It took all of her willpower not to storm her way through the shelves and punch that witch on the face. Still, time wound on as she ignored the noises till the day was over.

She kept coming to the library over the next few days, greeting the disheveled attendant, passing by the fume filled east wing while making her way to her usual spot. The witch would arrive sometime around ten and begin her work. Blanc paid her no mind while Mages did the same. They were both immersed in their respective worlds, ignoring reality around them as they worked.

Hours would pass before Blanc would set down her book and be the first one to leave the building and head back to her home. She passed by the east wing in which the witch was located, covering her mouth to make sure she didn't breathe in whatever that girl was brewing, as she navigated towards the reception desk and towards the exit. On a whim, she had a scout of hers monitor the library's activity all throughout the night. She found out that the lights within the building only went out whenever morning came and the silhouette of Mages could be seen stumbling out of the building.

From the looks of it, that witch must've been working hard on whatever she was researching on.

The day would start once more and Blanc would repeat it as usual while she was on her vacation mode. She would read books, practice writing, and churn out ideas. This routine continued for well over thirteen days before it was suddenly broken by an unexpected visitor.

"Woooow, there are so many books here~!"

Lowee's CPU tensed the moment she heard that voice float in the air. The book within her grasp fell with a thud on the floor as her mind wrapped around the idea of that person being in her newly formed sanctuary. She gulped down the lump forming within her throat as she knelt down to retrieve her novel. Tossing the book on her chair, she worked as fast as she can to hide all of her unfinished work before Plutia found her. She didn't have the patience of entertaining that airhead.

After putting most of her books and materials away, she then paused for a moment as she pondered on where she would hide, "The roof's no good since I'll have to go through the main hall, a place where that girl would mostly likely be. Between the shelves? No, she'll notice me right away. Damn it, why did she have to come now? Better yet, what the hell is she doing here in the first place?!"

"Maybe she has something important to do?"

"Heh, like that'll happen. No way would Planeptune's CPU waltz inside a library unle—" Blanc stopped short as she felt someone's warm breath at the back of her neck.

Performing a surprised jump, Lowee's CPU fell into the floor, keeping her eyes fixed on the girl standing above her. Sweat oozed from her forehead as her lips hung open while she figured out how the other girl managed to sneak up on her like that. Those sleepy looking pink eyes gazed at her in a friendly way yet Blanc knew better. Ohhh, she knew better than that and she was wiser to never let her guard down whenever she was in the presence of this girl.

"Hi Blanny~! What are you doing sleeping on the floor? You do know it's dirty, right~?" asked Plutia as she leaned over to give her fellow Goddess a smile.

If Blanc had anything to describe the girl before her, it would be that this person was more than meets the eye. Planeptune's CPU wore a strange mix of a dress and sleepwear which one could totally tell her personality just by looking at her outfit. She wore a powder blue dress with straps wrapped on her shoulders which somehow went along with the design of her uneven white skirt. Her ribbons and bear slippers were the most eye catching things of her appearance giving an innocent air around her.

Lowee's CPU pitied the poor sap whom would make such a poor judgment.

She breathed a sigh to calm her thoughts while forming her reply, "No, that's not it. You just surprised me that's all."

"Ah… But are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? I'm really sorry, Blanny," apologized Plutia in a pathetic tone.

"It's alright, really," said Blanc as she made haste to finish this conversation. The best course of action whenever engaged in a chat with this girl would be to do everything to end it quickly. Keeping Plutia's attention focused on her for five minutes would be her limit. She coughed to clear her throat while she dusted her skirt as she stood up, "So… What are you doing here? It's important, isn't it? Because if it's not, you can—"

Unfortunately, Planeptune's CPU managed to cut her off before she could finish, "Isn't it obvious~? I came to visit you, silly."

"What? You came all the way here just for that?" deadpanned Lowee's CPU. She did not know what she expected by asking that question.

"I was… uh… Worried, you see. Neppy hasn't been visiting a lot and Histy's getting bossier and bossier, so I'm all bored now~. You weren't sending back my letters so I came to see what you were doing~! I was wondering if you read them, you know?" explained Plutia in her usual airy manner of speech. One would be sooner fall asleep if they would wait for this girl to finish what she wanted to say. Something about her voice made people really drowsy for unknown reasons. Falling asleep while she was around would be the last mistake one would be able to make though.

Blanc thought back for a moment as she fumbled through her memories, "Ah… Those… Umm, yes?"

"Wonderful~! Say, Blanny, what are you doing here?" questioned the airhead with a clueless smile.

"That's what I'm supposed to be asking you," replied the brown haired girl with a smile of her own.

"Ohhh…"

"Hehehe…"

"…"

"WELL SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE OF ALL PLACES?!" roared Blanc as she flipped her table, her patience finally snapping in half before being crushed into a million pieces. She didn't care of the consequences, but she felt pretty damned determined to get this girl out of her sanctuary.

Of course, Plutia being Plutia, she wasn't even fazed at her friend's violent reaction. She even took the time to adopt a thoughtful expression as she spoke, "Hmm, I wonder why too…"

"SO YOU CAN'T REMEMBER?!" exclaimed Lady White Heart, she felt like her brain's going to explode at this point.

"What were we talking about again~?" asked the airhead with her default smile.

_**THUD**_

Blanc slammed her head into a wall as she hissed, "Is this some kind of psychological torture you've developed? Wait, no… You always did this even back then!"

"That's rude, Blanny~! You know I love you!"

"Okay, this is starting to get off topic faster than a cheetah."

"So what are you doing~?"

Lowee's CPU uttered a heavy sigh as she massaged her throbbing forehead. It was no use trying to talk to this girl. Anything she would say would only bounce off her head and ricochet to hit someone else. She wondered if all of this could've been avoided if she just said what she was doing in the first place, "I'm… Making a book."

"A story book?" pressed on Plutia with an interested expression.

"Here, have a look…" with a defeated look on her face, Blanc showed her fellow Goddess her creation as she slumped back on her chair. She felt exhausted, just by interacting with the airhead was mentally draining. She didn't know how Histoire would put up with such a person. Moments passed by while she stabilized her breathing. She could hear the other girl standing beside her, flipping through the pages of her unfinished manuscript.

Now that she thought of it, this was the first time she had someone else look at her work. She chuckled at herself for having Plutia be the first person to behold her masterpiece. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she immediately turned around to see Plutia's face.

"Can I have this~?" she asked, causing the brown haired girl to form a confused frown.

"Why?" Blanc questioned back.

"It's. A. Secret~" Planeptune's CPU placed a finger on her lips while giving her fellow Goddess a wink.

At that teasing tone, a heavy weight suddenly placed themselves on the shoulders of Lowee's CPU. She had managed to piece what Plutia was thinking and quickly felt disappointed with herself. Lifting her head, she gazed at the other girl right in the eye while saying in a hollow voice, "No. I won't let you use it as a torture device…"

"Awww…." The airhead seemed genuinely saddened at that yet Blanc knew she had just saved some poor sap from a horrible fate. Seeing her fellow Goddess' dejected expression, Plutia clapped her hands once while bouncing in place, "Well, if it makes you feel better, I can point out what's wrong~."

"Really?" asked the brown haired girl with a hint of hope shining within her eyes.

"It's reaaaalllyyyy boring," replied the other girl in a painfully blunt manner. Blanc fell on the ground at that and immediately got up again, placing her hands on both of the indigo haired girl's shoulders. She then began to shake her like no tomorrow, causing Plutia's eyes to roll around in a daze.

"At least be more gentle!" she yelled while continuing to shake her friend.

…..

….

…

It was quiet around the library save for the small explosions from afar and the scratching of a pen on paper. It's been ten minutes since Blanc silenced Plutia by forcing a book into her face and forcing her to read it. She would glance behind her once in a while to see if her friend was doing okay. It turned out that despite her looks and personality, Planeptune's usually airheaded CPU was easily absorbed in the story she had within her hands. If only she would stop gasping every once in a while then it would've been okay.

"W-Wait~! So Snape kills Dumbledo—"

"Hey, you mind keeping it down back there?"

"Ah, sorry, Blanny~"

Blanc uttered a sigh at her fellow Goddess' apology. It's not like would stop even after being told off but there was no helping it. The least she could do was focus on her writing which had somehow become a battlefield. Ideas mixed with one another as she worked on a certain scene. Somehow her hand just refused to write the next few words. Her back tensing, she reached within her memory for the name of this symptom. Could this be the infamous writer's block authors were prone to experiencing?

"Y-You've gotta be kidding…" she growled as she gripped her pen, "Of all times… Why did it have to be now?"

She gulped down the lump in her throat as she unsteadily forced herself to write. After forming a few words, she re-read her sentences tice before coming to the conclusion of them being crap. The worst, unimaginable, crap she had ever produced during her entire time in the building. She slumped backwards as she threw away her draft and sighed.

"This is getting me nowhere," Blanc grumbled these words as she rubbed her forehead.

"Maybe you're just tired~? Looks like you're really trying hard, Blanny," commented Plutia as she placed a stack of books beside her fellow Goddess.

"Yeah well, it's my new hobby after all…" replied Lowee's CPU as she sat up straight once more, picking up her pen as she used to tap her cheek, "It's only been a few days since I started, I can't get all bored now."

"But hobbies are supposed to be fun, right? It's no good to have a hobby that isn't fun! That's just like work and work isn't fun at all," said Planeptune's CPU as she arranged the books and placed them on their respective shelves. She suddenly paused as the gears within her head turned for a moment. She bore a resemblance to a sleepy statue for a moment before her eyes flew open as her head turned to the right, this alarmed Blanc beyond belief.

"W-What's wrong?" stuttered Lowee's Goddess, sweat sliding down from her forehead as an uncomfortable feeling welled up within her.

"I have an idea~!" declared Plutia with her trademark slur. She skipped her way towards Blanc and placed her hands on the table, "I'll help you out! This way you'll never run out of ideas~! How's that sound? Wouldn't that be great~?"

"Help… me out?" parroted the brown haired girl as she thought it over, "But… will that really work? I mean to be honest… You're the last person I wanted to hear that from…"

The indigo haired girl's smile disappeared and was replaced with a sad expression. Her lips trembled as her eyes began to fill up with tears. In a shaky voice she said, "I-I-I see… It's okay, I-I guess…"

"What? Wait, hold on! Why the hell are you crying?!" cried a panicked Blanc as she stood up and went to Plutia's side. Seeing the other Goddess refuse to respond and merely stand there, she couldn't help but growl a little as while saying, "Grrr… Fine. You can help me with my work. Happy?"

"Really~?" asked Planeptune's CPU as her eyes began to sparkle.

Lady White Heart couldn't help but sigh at her friend's change of attitude, "Yeah… Let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

The next few days were very busy for Blanc. She wrote and researched at the same time while she did her best to follow the ideas Plutia had left her. It turned out that getting another person to help was the right choice seeing that she would be able to expand on that person's ideas and connect them with her own. Her writing was smoother compared to that little block a few days ago and she could see that she was doing great at the moment.

Planeptune's CPU would drop by from time to time yet she always came at the wrong moment which was whenever Blanc was in the middle of something important. It's been quiet during those days and Plutia had stopped coming after she ran out of ideas. Histoire didn't seem to be happy with her constant absences though and was giving out proper punishment.

The explosions on the other side of the building seemed to be still continuing yet Blanc had no interest in interacting with that witch. She merely sat there and wrote as she worked on and around her fellow Goddess' ideas. Well, that was until she got another unexpected visitor.

"Well, well, well… What do we have here? Making an attempt in literature, are we?" cooed a ladylike voice from over the brown haired girl's shoulder.

Breathing a sigh, she had no choice but to pay attention to the person she had been ignoring for the past ten minutes, "Vert… What do you want? I'm sure as hell that you didn't come to see me."

"I came here at Plutia's request. She said that you were working on something so important that you would need other people's help. To think that you were trying to become an author was really surprising, you know?" replied Vert as she uttered a giggle.

"Go away. You're annoying."

"Now, now, let's try and be nice okay? I'm here to help you after all."

"I don't need it. I'd rather have a bookshelf fall on me."

The blonde girl crossed her arms under her well-developed bust and let out a huff, "How rude! Remember, you can never be player one! No man's an island you know?"

"I'm a girl, not a man," hissed the brown haired girl through gritted teeth. Her eyebrow began to twitch at her increasing irritation.

"Well you're flat enough to be one."

_**SNAP**_

The remains of a silver fountain pen clattered into the blue carpeted floor at that. A murderous aura enveloped Lowee's CPU as she turned around to look at Leanbox's CPU, her eyes hidden beneath her fringe. Her hands trembling, she formed a trembling fist as she approached Vert. She then parted her lips as she growled, "Mind repeating that, thunder tits?"

_**BOOM**_

…..

….

…

Blanc uttered a sigh as she read a book. It was Tuesday and the weather was nice, the sky was clear and the wind wasn't that cold. The orange leaves of her nation's trees swayed with a passing breeze that helped cool the Goddess' mind. She was just about to reach the part where the detective of the story she was reading was about to uncover the culprit. She learned that there are varying writing styles within each book she had read, causing her to come to the conclusion that these styles help set up the kind of atmosphere the author was going for.

She pondered for a bit as to what kind of style she had been writing about for the past few days. Well, all she knew she was writing a story but it never occurred to her as to what kind of way she should write. Now to her, this seemed to be a matter of concern. If she had no knowledge on how she was writing then she would not know what she was writing about at all. It was like creating something without knowing its purpose.

"Goddess…"

Rolling her eyes, she then placed her attention at the person who just disturbed her for the second time that week. It was Mages holding a long staff at her right hand while her other hand was placed on her hip. She bore the same emotionless expression during the first time they met each other.

The CPU closed her book and tossed it into the table while asking, "What is it? I thought we had an agreement."

"Yes, we did. However the air pressure within the library has changed drastically ever since four o' clock yesterday after an earth shattering explosion. Would you kindly explain why there is a hole in the wall while having Leanbox's Goddess gagged and tied with a rope?" Mages had her eyes on the frantic Vert wriggling within her bonds as she swayed from left to right. A look of pity appeared on the witch's face as she thought about the number of hours the Goddess spent hanging.

Scratching her cheek and turning her gaze at her fellow Goddess, Blanc then replied, "I just took care of a few annoyances. Don't worry."

The witch waved her staff a bit and fired a blue jet of light at the rope suspending the blonde Goddess. There was clicking sound in the air followed by a muffled scream before a dull thud echoed around the room. The blue haired girl turned around to leave but not without saying, "Please clean up your mess."

"Will do," muttered Lowee's CPU as she grabbed another book from the pile beside her and began to read.

Vert burst from her bonds and got up, storming towards Blanc's side with her face red with rage and embarrassment, "That's not the kind of thing you should say in this situation! You left me there for the entire night! Did you have any idea how cold it was?!"

"Of course I did. I was with you the whole night, wasn't I?" pointed out the brown haired girl without the slightest reaction.

"You sat below me with a blanket _and_ thermostat! You were drinking _tea!_ You even lit a bonfire!" cried Leanbox's CPU looking absolutely miffed.

"Your point?" asked Blanc.

"You don't do that to me!" snapped Vert, "Really, now. How barbaric this nation can be when their own Goddess is a savage little dog!"

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"Eh?"

_**BOOM**_

…..

….

…

"Goddess…"

"Yeah, yeah, I cleaned up, see?"

Mages visited once again the moment another explosion rang through the building. Much to her surprise though, there were no traces of a hole in the wall and everything seemed to be in place. Though there were no damages as far as the eye can see, she was still a bit irritated that she was disturbed while in the middle of an important spell work.

She walked into the area where Lowee's CPU established her sanctuary and approached the now repaired wall. Giving it a brief knock and muttering a few incantations, she found out that it was just a normal, newly repaired wall. Once she was sure there was nothing out of the ordinary there, she then scanned the room for abnormalities. Of course there was none other than a physical Goddess sitting on a chair and reading a book.

Seeing as she wasn't needed there anymore, she left without a word.

"Three… two… one…" Blanc snapped her fingers, which was then followed by a body falling from the ceiling.

Vert stood up as she brushed dirt off her dress and shoulders, "That…. Was uncalled for."

"If you have that much free time then why don't you go back to your place and work or something?" muttered Lowee's CPU as she turned a page of her book.

"I told you did I not? I'm here to churn out ideas for your little tale since I don't have anything better to do," said Leanbox's CPU while crossing her arms under her bust, "Besides, I find your little project to be interesting enough for my attention."

Blanc paused her reading as she turned to face her fellow Goddess, "Hmmm, how about a no? You're annoying so get out of my sight."

"Oh well, it's your loss. And here I was eager to help you out on how to drag in Leanbox's citizens to read your Lowee product. Think about it, if you let me in with your brainstorming then your book will surely sell!" proposed Vert with her eyes sparkling. She placed her hands on the back of the other CPU's chair and said "Come on, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's not like I'm always in a good mood."

"I'm not interested in you shamelessly advertising your nation in my book or inserting your BL romance genre anywhere near it," the brown haired girl made her reply as blunt as possible. This of course hit Vert where it hurt most and looked like she was just hit in the gut with a metal pipe.

Grabbing the edge of the table for support, Vert gritted her teeth as she said, "Insulting… the purity…. Of BL… It's something that I cannot forgive! Fight me now!"

"No. Please leave me the hell alone," sighed Blanc as she rubbed her forehead, "You're only embarrassing yourself…"

"Your resistance will only make my efforts harder! I will not stop until you let me in that book of yours!" declared the blonde Goddess with a smug look on her face.

"If it'll get you to shut up, then fine," said the brown haired girl as she kept her eyes on her book, "What the hell did you have in mind, oh great Green Heart? Mind enlightening me on your genre busting ideas that will move my readers to tears and awe? Just don't give me crap since I'm already making shitty stories here."

Vert choked at those questions and struggled to regain her composure, "Um… That is… I'll think about it first."

"Good luck with that," replied Blanc with an indifferent tone, "And if you can't think up of anything, try retracing the interesting bits you remember from the games you played. That should give you a damn idea."

"Well if you put it that way," the blonde Goddess tapped her cheek twice as she thought up of an idea. She decided to approach the long table near the other Goddess and pull out a chair to sit on it. Resting her elbows on the table, she fixed her eyes on the powder blue ceiling as she organized her thoughts, "Hmm, don't you think that it'll come off as a total rip off of the games I played if I mentioned them to you?"

Lowee's CPU released an irritated sigh as she said, "I told you that it should give you an idea, right? I didn't actually say that you should give me the plot for the entire story. Just take elements from the damn thing and serve them."

"You look like you know what you're talking about, hm?" commented Leanbox's CPU in a teasing manner.

"I read," muttered Blanc in a deadpan tone, "It's only natural that I freaking know…."

"Then you should also know that you won't be inspired by staying cooped up in a place like this," replied Vert with a smile on her lips, "Inspiration comes from any things and not just from good old fashioned research. If you're really dead set on this like I am to my games, then you should know this by now. A book can't be made by just one person you know?"

The Goddess of Lowee paused for a moment as she registered those words in her mind. Giving it some though, she then opened her mouth to speak, "You know, you actually said something smart for once. But I'll be damned if I actually believed that bullshit. You're just making excuses so you don't have to work, right?"

"How rude, and here I was telling you something useful!" protested the Goddess of Leanbox.

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Huh?"

Vert gave the brown haired girl a look of disbelief at those words. She expected some more outbursts and curses than a quick and indifferent reply. Somehow she felt like asking if the other Goddess was feeling okay but her instinct told her that something bad would definitely happen. Thinking back to the previous days she'd been with Blanc, snapping that thin little nerve in her would be the last thing the blonde Goddess would like to do.

So she settled for staring at the other girl at that moment.

Blanc noticed this, causing her to pinch the bridge of her nose as she slumped backwards, "I'm in a surprisingly good mood despite being exposed to your god awful presence…. You just gave me something to think about."

Snapping out of her reverie, Leanbox's CPU regained her movements with a surprised look on her face. A smile appearing on her lips, she then said, "Well, I did say that I'll assist you, didn't I?"

The other Goddess didn't even spare her a glance as she went back to work. However Lowee's CPU parted her lips and grumbled a reply, "Yeah whatever…. Thanks…"

Vert pulled a chair near Blanc and oversaw her writings. Uneventful hours flew by yet the two didn't seem to mind. Blanc kind of felt this sensation during the time Plutia was with her. She then came to the conclusion that the annoying Goddess beside her may be right. A book can't be made by just one person.


	3. Chapter 3

"And done," sighed the brown haired girl as she leaned back on her chair. She stretched her arms as she arced her back, her stiff muscles eliciting an audible crack. A smile decorated her lips as she gazed upon the product of her hard work these past three weeks. The manuscript she had for her book was finally finished and was ready for editing. Problem was that she knew she wouldn't be able to edit it properly since she was the one who wrote it.

A second opinion would be the wisest thing to acquire at that moment. It was once stated in one of her instructional books that many authors found it hard to correct their own work because of their mindset that their work was already perfect and that they would be blind of their own errors. As ridiculous as it sounded, Blanc felt it would be better to be safe than sorry. Having a second pair of eyes would be nice, sharp ones would be preferable to catch on the tiniest mistakes.

She still had no clue on who to call out for help but she knew she needed someone who was an expert when it came to books. All of a sudden, the image of her counterpart popped into her mind. She entertained the idea for a moment before coming to a horrible realization: her other self was a god awful writer and critic.

"Ugh… Maybe I'll think about this tomorrow…" the Goddess let out a grumble as she turned her eyes to the wall clock near her. It was half past eight it was time to go home and eat dinner, she would have to deal with this in the next day and maybe finding someone who'll be able to help her.

Standing up from her chair, the CPU cleaned up all of her work materials and stored them within a cardboard box filled with pens, inks, and paper. She noted how she would also need to get an encoder to transfer her work within a text document. She wondered how much workload would come crashing down on her once her vacation was over.

Placing the final book she borrowed back into its shelf, she placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed her little work area, "Good. Maybe closing off the entire building for the month wasn't such a bad idea."

Her gaze lingered on the cardboard box under the table for a few moments before snapping herself back into reality. With a satisfied look, she exited the area thinking that no one would bother reading her manuscript while she was gone. That's how another night ended within the library of Lowee.

...

….

…

The sound of paper being flipped echoed between the bookshelves. A young woman set the book she held on the table and rolled up her sleeves. Her eyes narrowed, she placed all of her concentration on her enchantment and began to the spell. Well that was at least before she heard the library door being kicked opened followed by the sounds of a muffled voice and struggling. With a heavy sigh, Mages had no choice but to investigate what was causing all the commotion. It shouldn't be too hard for her to guess.

She peeked from behind a shelf and found Blanc dragging behind her a young woman dressed in a black business type suit and skirt with black leggings. This girl had pale silver hair which shined in the morning light that came from the windows while her light green eyes twinkled with tears behind her glasses. Her groans floated up the library's ceiling.

"Please let go of me…. There's no need to drag me by my clothes, I'll come quietly if that's what you want!" cried the glasses girl as she squirmed and wriggled while she was being pulled.

Blanc merely responded in her usual quiet voice, "Not a chance. Chasing you from building to building was hard enough, but seriously, when did you learn parkour?"

"I don't know! Besides, I did nothing wrong! I'm a good girl now so please let me go! I still have an appointment sometime in the afternoon and my power point presentation isn't complete yet," complained the girl in black as she flailed her arms.

It was truly a pathetic scene. Mages released another heavy sigh as she walked out into the open, crossing her arms as she spoke, "Goddess, what's the meaning of this? Isn't she…"

"This is Rei," muttered Lowee's CPU, turning her head towards the blue haired girl, "she'll be editing my works from now on."

The glasses girl tensed and felt a shiver run down her spine at the absolute words, "I-I-I'm go-going to what?"

"Is it really okay for you to decide things on your own? Granted that you're a Goddess but still…" the witch gave the silver haired girl a glance, staring into those tear filled eyes similar to a poor puppy's. Tilting her head, she turned around to walk back from where she came from, "Just make sure you don't make a mess."

"WHAT?!" screamed Rei in disbelief, "Y-You can't just leave me here!"

"Roger that," replied Blanc as she resumed dragging the girl in black back into her area.

"W-Wait! Don't I get a say in this?! Somebody help me!" cried the glasses girl as she disappeared behind a bookshelf. Her voice became fainter and fainter until it could no longer be heard. Crossing her arms, Mages tilted her head at the bizarre sight.

"Poor girl. I wonder what kind of hell she'll experience if she read _that_," said the witch to no one in particular, "Strange… This couldn't be a coincidence, could it?"

* * *

Rei was in a pickle, she had no idea how she got involved in it. All she remembered was that she was working as usual in her office, taking care of some papers while talking to Anonydeath over the phone. She was about to make herself some coffee when her door was kicked down all of a sudden and Lowee's CPU stomped her way to her. She was too confused to register what her visitor was saying that she really didn't understand anything that was said. The next thing she knew was that she was being dragged by the back of her clothes right out of her own office.

"So shouldn't this be considered as kidnapping?" said Rei with a nervous laugh.

"No. Besides, you have nothing better to do anyway. You can make use of your time by being a good girl and working," replied Blanc as she concentrated on a book as she sat beside her 'helper'.

The glasses girl scratched her cheek, choosing her words carefully as she spoke, "D-D-Don't I get a s-say in this? I didn't sign up for this after all."

"If you do the work fast and easy then you'll finish faster," muttered Lowee's CPU as she turned a page of her novel, "You can start now by the way."

"Uuu~…." Rei uttered a defeated sigh as she rearranged the manuscript which was laid out before her. She then grabbed a pen from her pocket and straightened her glasses, "Umm, this is the original manuscript or is it just a copy? It wouldn't be wise for me to scribble all over it with my corrections, don't you think?"

"As if I'd let the master copy get scribbled at. I have the original copy there," answered Blanc as she looked up from her book and pointed at the top most shelf, "This way no one could get it…"

The girl in black looked up and back at the Goddess before repeating the action. Adopting a thoughtful expression, she then asked, "Then… How will you reach it?"

"Good question," said Lowee's CPU while Rei hit her head on the table.

Lifting her head up with a strained smile, the glasses girl then replied, "H-H-How carefree of you…"

"Not that it matters. I'll figure something out later," assured Blanc as she resumed her reading.

And so began the battle. Rei didn't really understand why she was chosen to be this girl's new toy but all she knew was that she had to do what she did best, doing what others told her. Not that she was still the same girl that didn't have any self confidence in the past, but she knew of the wrongdoings she had done to this Goddess' nation. Ever since she had reformed and begun her life anew after being forgiven by the CPUs, she never had the chance to repay them for their kindness towards her despite all she had done.

Maybe this was her chance. It then came to her that she was better off beginning her work than pondering her current predicament. She first skimmed through the material handed to her and read it as it is. Following that she took note of all the general mistakes and glaring flaws, writing them on a piece of paper. It would've been much easier for her to correct these mistakes if she had a computer or something, she would have to ask Blanc later for one instead of manually doing this.

Her pen moved while her eyes nitpicked every errors she found. This was no different from office work; it was just like authorizing paperwork for Anonydeath's little projects. It could be annoying and troublesome at times however Rei sometimes found work to be quiet fun.

"You're making a weird face," commented Blanc's voice, causing the glasses girl to sit up in attention. Looking beside her, she found the Goddess giving her a disappointed look, "Wipe your mouth and get rid of the sparkling special effects around you face. There's a line one shouldn't cross when loving work, you know?"

"Sorry, sorry, it's just that it kind of helps me keep my mind off things," Rei nervously laughed only to meet an awkward silence.

She was about to slump back into work when Lowee's CPU gave an unexpected reply, "I guess we have a few things in common."

"Out of curiosity though, if I may ask, I was wondering what books did to get your attention," asked the glasses girl as she resumed her task.

"Same reason as to why you like work: to keep my mind off things," answered the Goddess.

"Then that makes you an easily motivated person…" the girl in black then mumbled to herself, "Unlike me…"

These words however did not escape Blanc's ears, therefore causing her to grab her new 'helper's attention with a cough, "You're the same as always. You lack self-esteem and confidence. You're more content in wallowing yourself in self-pity and depreciation than shutting every person around you with a firm voice and strong resolve. I'm quite surprised that you even have the strength to go out and work on your own."

Rei felt the weight of these sharp words drag her down. The way they pierced her felt all too real. It made breathing hard for her as she comically lifted her head with tears gathering in her eyes, "Please be gentler… I could only handle so much criticism…"

"However," continued Blanc, "To fall and rise once again, it only shows that Tari's once great leader hasn't lost her touch. It'll take time, but you've seen this world change over the decades, correct? In our cursed immortality as CPUs, we watched this world grow and help it prosper. You should know by now that someday, you'll change too. For better or force worse is up to you, but you should know the path you're walking on by now. You're supposed to be an adult, right?"

"I think so," said Rei as her hand engaged autopilot to converse with the girl beside her, "Back then, during those times when I acted rashly, I have to admit that was pretty stupid of me."

"No kidding," added Lowee's CPU with a snort.

The glasses girl giggled and continued, "Well you can say that. I was feeling bitter and only felt content with feeding my hate even when I couldn't express it freely. Now that I think of it, my reasons for taking you CPUs down was pretty childish and unreasonable. I should've never gotten you all involved. I've made a lot of mistakes, wrongdoings and errors. Especially to you, Lady Blanc. It… Must've been hard."

"You have no idea," hissed the brown haired girl, making the girl in black tense once more.

Rei sighed and forced out a smile, "Well, I'm sorry for that. I regret it and… I still don't think what I'm doing now will be enough to earn my forgiveness. But… at least, I do hope that… maybe one day…"

"Chapters."

"Yes?"

Blanc paused and closed her book. She placed it on her lap while inhaling a deep breath of air. Her dull blue eyes met with Rei's surprised green once as she said, "Gathering what I've learned these past few weeks is that life is made up of dozens of chapters. The average NPC having up to sixty chapters before their story ends and is immortalized in the memories of their loved ones. To CPUs and … former CPUs, it doesn't work that way. Comparing life to a book, it would mean that as Goddesses and individuals that have large parts in the history of Gamindustri would have more than sixty chapters. Heroes and heroines alike are bound to have a hundred at least before they pass on."

Releasing a great sigh, she then continued with, "Unlike them, we're immortal unless we are eliminated or deleted, therefore our chapters will simply pile up, creating a grand or maybe tragic tale that thousands will soon be knowing in the future. I'm telling you that those dark days, suffering filled tragic angsty background story you have is just an ugly chapter in your long life, Rei Ryghts. Falling to evil and finding your way back on the right track, now isn't that a noteworthy feat? Well I'm certain that it's something to be proud off and worth boasting. Besides, it's through that feat that you've gathered some good companions."

"I see… When one chapter ends another will start anew," said the glasses girl as she adopted a thoughtful expression.

"Correct," confirmed the Goddess with a smirk, "And also, you can stop worrying about us not forgiving you because we already did."

"Huh?" Rei raised her eyebrows as she tilted her head in confusion, "Then… that would mean…"

"You have Neptune to thank for that even when Noire and I were against it. Vert seemed neutral in the whole thing while Plutia agreed with that purple idiot. We couldn't do anything in the end since the two Histoires passed the decision and allowed us to be friendlier to you," explained Blanc.

"Wait! You were holding me on trial without me being there!" gasped Rei in disbelief.

"Yes. We were trying to decide if we would execute you by tossing you into a Dogoo den or feeding you to a Guard Dragon. Did you really expect us to forget what you did to our nations that easily?" Lowee's CPU gave her assistant a weird look while said girl was shaking in her seat utterly shocked.

"I didn't even know…" muttered the glasses girl as she stared on the table.

"Oh please. At least being fed to a Guard Dragon is way better than being Plutia's 'Super-Happy-Fun-Time-Doll' which the Goddess in question suggested herself in an even disturbing fashion than normal," the Goddess casually said this without even batting an eye while the former CPU beside her felt a shiver run down her spine.

"S-S-Super Ha-Happy Fun Time?" parroted Rei with a high pitched squeak.

"But enough of that," Blanc closed her eyes as if to rest them before reaching within her skirt pocket and taking out some breath mints. She popped a couple of tablets into her mouth as she continued speaking, "Question is… are you having fun with the kind of life you have now?"

Light shined on Rei's glasses, obscuring her eyes from the other girl's view. Her face didn't show any expression other than one being deep in thought; Blanc couldn't really tell what she was thinking. It was only when her lips turned into a smile as she faced the Goddess did she reply, "I'm content. I wouldn't be able to ask for more. Being the leader of an evil organization is an occupation, right? What drove me to be that person in the past is long gone… I just hope it stays that way…"

"It will. You don't have to worry," muttered Lowee's CPU, resuming her reading of the book she had earlier. She then paused for a moment as if she remembered something before turning to her 'helper', "One more thing, you're hereby banned from stepping within Lowee for the following twenty days once you finish your work…"

Of course, the glasses girl was taken aback by this and asked, "W-what? But wh-why?"

"I hate long winded speeches," replied Blanc as she rubbed her throat, "I think I made myself look like a sappy idiot back there…"

"H-How is that my fault?!" protested Rei in a stuttering voice.

"Get back to work," retorted the Goddess, turning a page of her book, "It'll be awhile before you finish manually, correct? Don't worry, I'll get you a computer to speed up the process… Until then however…. Please take your time…"

She was surprised though when she heard a stifled laugh, causing her to turn her head to her 'helper'. She found the girl in black trying hard not to burst out laughing while looking at her. Of course Blanc was anything but happy whenever she's being laughed at. Her anger abated though when the glasses girl gave her a pat on the head and returned to work.

"I'll try my best. So you better do you too."

* * *

Two days have passed ever since Rei first stopped by the library. On those days she would come by in the afternoon once she properly dismissed herself from her office work. It was a good thing she was patient person otherwise she would have long since abandoned Blanc's demands. To compensate for the trouble the Goddess had given her, she was provided with a computer she would be able to work on along with some credits for her to spend on whatever she wanted.

Today all was normal and the only sounds that would be heard in the library were the tapping of her keyboard and tiny explosions from the east wing. Blanc would be seated on a comfortable cushion under the nearby window while Rei typed away in her desk. She was half-way through with her work, if she quickened her pace now she would be able to finish in the entire book in three days.

Rei uttered a brief sigh as she took a short break, "With this I'm almost finished. Sitting all day sure is tiring…"

"I must be an expert then if I don't get tired," said Blanc from her corner.

"If I may… uh… ask, Lady Blanc, what of your Goddess duties? Is… it okay for you to be away from work for this long?" asked the glasses girl.

"I'm on vacation. I've already worked enough to last me two months so don't mind me and get back to whatever you're doing," replied the Goddess without looking up from her book.

"W-W-Well! It's j-just that you're a-acting quite similar to Planeptune's CPU when you're not working," elaborated Rei as she awkwardly scratched her cheek.

_**THUD**_

It didn't take long for the girl in black to jump in her seat and accidentally mash her fingers into her keyboard, reducing her work into a jumbled mess of letters. However that was not the main focus here for the reason in which Rei was forced to squeak like a squirrel was caused by the loud fall of Blanc's book. Turning her head to the girl in question, the former CPU gazed nervously at the shocked face of Lowee's Goddess.

"I-Is s-s-something wrong. L-Lady Blanc?" she questioned in a quivering voice that was caught between anxiety and fear.

Blanc's face was white as sheet while her mouth hung open in a comical manner, "Oh my Goddess…."

"H-Huh?" squeaked Rei as she trembled, silently wondering what she had done now.

"I'm like those idiots? I'm like…. What the hell? Please tell me you're joking," muttered the Goddess as she stared into space, "Do I really look like that unproductive?"

"Why yes, but the only thing that differentiates you from Plutia is that you comb your hair," replied Vert as she sat on the glasses girl's desk.

The former CPU fell from her chair with a loud crash yet recovered quickly, only to point at Leanbox's Goddess and exclaim, "W-Where did you come from?! H-How did you pop o-out of nowhere?! How's that p-possible?!"

"Oh my… I think it's best not to question why I am capable of appearing out of nowhere," answered the blonde girl with a teasing wink.

"Wh-Why are you w-winking at an empty space?! There's no one there!" asked Rei, still not getting over the fact that Vert was beside her all that time without her knowledge.

…. Moving on….

"I'm going out," announced Blanc with the same uneasy expression on her visage as she set aside her book. She walked past Rei and Vert whom were following her with their eyes as she left. Where she was going was still a mystery even to them. All they heard was the slamming of the entrance doors before the only sounds that were left were the explosions on the other side of the building.

Regarding Blanc on the other hand, she had already walked a reasonable distance from the library and was now navigating her way through the streets of Lowee. Rei's words echoed within her still shocked mind, repeating itself over and over again until it was imprinted in her brain. There was no way it could be true, right? Did she really act similar to Plutia when she wasn't working? Somehow that pierced her pride deeper than it should. She had to do something about this.

"But what can I do?" she asked herself with a sigh.

As if reading her mind, a voice replied to her from her right, "And you treat that as a bad thing when it isn't…"

The Goddess came to a halt and turned her head to the right. She immediately spotted the shining pink armored robot suit wearing an apron, headband and a long black skirt. Turning her head back in front of her, the CPU then said, "I didn't see anything…"

"WAIT HOLD ON, YOU CAN'T JUST IGNORE ME!"

The girl ignored the mecha suited individual and continued walking, only to be pulled back by a large hand grasping on her shoulder. On instinct, Blanc stomped on the ground as she grabbed the hand on her shoulder. Using her divine strength, she easily performed a magnificent throw on the person whom grabbed her. There was the sound of metal collapsing on the ground followed by a squealing voice of a feminine male.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Let's not be hasty here or else you'll break my face!" warned Anonydeath as he cowered on the ground, trembling under the girl's red eyed glare.

"I don't have time dealing with annoyances…. You better entertain me…" growled the CPU as she stomped towards the 'pure maiden'. Grabbing the former Seven Sage by the shoulders and effortlessly lifting him up, she then asked, "What do you want?"

Raising a trembling finger, Anonydeath pointed towards a café just behind him, "Tea, my dear? You look pretty stressed out, hm?"

"For someone's who's at death's door, you can sure talk smoothly," commented Blanc as she noticed the 'pure maiden's' get up, "Disgusting. If this shop of yours makes me sick then I'm closing it down."

"Of course not," denied the former Seven Sage, leading Lowee's CPU into the shop, "Why don't you sit down, grab a cup of coffee and chase away your woes."

A bell ran within the shop as Blanc entered it. Looking around, everything appeared to be normal. It had an oriental air about it, matching the overall theme of Lowee's regal architecture. The walls were all white with a few embroidered art work hung up to add to the scenery. Bamboo shoots placed within cube vases at either side of the entrance added more into the overall atmosphere. The chairs were simplistic in design, the same went for the booths near the walls. The air had the distinct scent of tea and coffee in it.

It was pretty much a generic café with nothing outstanding to see, however the CPU felt right at home despite all that. It was quiet and there were only a couple of customers idling inside. She felt a nudge behind her which made her move forward. Anonydeath immediately entered the shop right after her.

"Not bad, right?" he asked with an air of pride.

"If this was an oriental styled café, then why are you wearing a maid uniform?" questioned the CPU right back at him.

The former Seven Sage seemed surprised by this and fidgeted awkwardly, "Well… Would you prefer it for me to wear a kimono or something? Oh dear, I never knew you were that kind of per—"

"Oh sorry, but did I just hear you say 'please-punch-me-in-the-face-with-a-burning-chair' because I'd be more than happy to comply," cut off Blanc as an ominous aura enveloped her. Her killing intent seeping through her skin, it didn't take long for the pink mechanized suited man to back track in his words.

"Ahem, as I was saying, your table will be right here, ma'am," he hastily said while leading the Goddess to her table. He then moved about with grace and precision despite the heavy looking armor enveloping his body, handing the brown haired girl the menu before standing at attention on her side, "What would you like to have in this lovely day, ma'am?"

Blanc stared at the former Sage with a blank expression. Within her mind, the gears of her thoughts began to spin. _Just how the hell can he move like that in that thing? Isn't that supposed to be impossible? _She thought before her stomach suddenly grumbled. Her cheeks immediately flushed red, forcing her to hide her embarrassed face behind the menu list. Her foot flew and came in contact with Anonydeath's knee when he let it slip that he suppressed a laugh.

"Coffee and some takoyaki. I want it filled with honey, understand?" she snapped while slamming the menu on her table. Now that she thought of it, she hadn't eaten her lunch yet since she had her attention occupied by a book she picked up the past evening. She hated her luck's timing.

Typing on a device in his robotic arm, the 'pure maiden' then asked, "Will that be all?"

"A dash of inspiration would be nice and maybe my pride," answered the Goddess before her head came in contact with the table. She felt the former Sage leave when the sounds of his suit's humming disappeared. It was strange, a former enemy working as a waitress(?) in a café. How surreal could that be? Well, once the Seven Sages disbanded in the past, they did say that they will change the group's name and goal as a sign of a fresh start.

It was amusing to watch how this world worked sometimes.

It didn't take long for her order to arrive. A pure white mug sitting on top of a coaster was placed on her table, the scent of the coffee filling her nose. She gave the former Sage standing in attention at her side a glance before taking a sip of her drink. She raised her eyebrows as the delicious flavor came in contact with her taste buds. It was pretty well made, the flavor was really emphasized thanks to the perfect temperature it was brewed with. Surprised to have tasted something this delicious in quite a while, Blanc couldn't help but drink some more before placing the mug back on the coaster.

"You seem to be awfully busy despite being on vacation, Lady Blanc?" said Anonydeath as he stood at attention at the girl's side, "Judging from your stressed out appearance, these past days have been eventful, are they not? Good, good, it's better to spend your time with friends than being all alone by yourself."

The Goddess didn't even look at him as she replied, "You've been toying with the securities in our Basilicoms again, have you? I guess old habits do die hard."

"I was merely keeping tabs on you all," explained the former Sage, "With the shifting world around us, who know what might happen to the all-important Goddesses we all know and love. You are aware of the events surrounding the various nations, correct? I wonder myself if you've received the information of a new breed of monsters making their appearance in the vast plains of Leanbox as well as the forest of Lowee. If you do, then I as a concerned citizen I'll have to ask if you're going to do anything about it?"

"And what good will it do if I answered you? Will it ease your unnecessary worry or will you continue to pester me on something you shouldn't be concerned of? I know your game and I'm not going to throw a tantrum over some bait you're tossed me," said Lowee's CPU as she placed a bit of sugar into her mug.

Anonydeath moved back and waved his wrist up and down, speaking in a girlish manner unbefitting of his voice, "Oh you~! There's no ill intent behind this all. I was just curious since this information I got was—"

"False and has no solid basis," cut off Blanc as she stirred her coffee, "As a master hacker such as yourself, you should be aware of the bugs and worms Vert released into the Internep to chase off would be leeches like you. Fortunately for the other nations, this proved to be beneficial since it reduced the chances of a third party from discovering our secrets."

Slumping his shoulders, the former Sage released a sigh, "You're no fun at all. That's no way to be cute, you know?"

"As if I care," retorted Blanc with a snort, "I'm having your worms extracted from my Basilicom's system. If you want to spy on people then Noire will be more than happy to let you."

"Changing topics then. Seeing you leave the library all sullen and shocked made me wonder what happened. Shouldn't you be working on your little tale? It doesn't seem like sitting around idling in random place would give you the inspiration that you need would be a good idea," said Anonydeath as he let out a chuckle.

The Goddess placed her elbow on her table and rested her head on her palm, "Blame your stupid leader. It's her fault I was thrown out of the loop."

"You dislike being compared to the purple one in Planeptune?" asked the former Sage.

"Just how the hell do you… Gah, whatever. Tell that girl to restrain herself from spouting nonsense," the CPU's words then turned into incomprehensible mumbling.

"Getting worked up over something so trivial won't do at all, Lady Blanc," said Anonydeath as he shook his head, "You need to learn the BMW."

"What the hell is that?" questioned Blanc, giving the former Sage a skeptical look crossed with a glare.

Crossing his arms, the pink armored man let out a huff of pride, "I've read it in a comic once yet it had a different meaning under it! 'B' is for 'Breakthrough'! You need to break through your petty state of mind and move forward. At this rate you'll never be able to advance in your novel or improve. Since you CPUs are all savages and the like, it shouldn't be hard for you to use brute force to solve your problems, correct?"

An anger vein popped on Blanc's forehead yet she otherwise remained calm.

"Next driving in is 'M' for 'Manifestation'! You need to make yourself stronger while increasing your mental capacity in a much higher level than it is now. It takes much willpower to overcome the trivialities which hinder your progress with your magnum opus," explained Anonydeath in a giddy manner, it seemed like he was enjoying this, "You must manifest all of your strength to overcome the obstacle between you and your goal. This way you should accomplish it with little problems. Manifest the will to move on from where you've landed yourself."

Another anger vein popped on the Goddess' forehead. She was starting to get royally pissed yet she held it in as she took another sip of her coffee.

"And for the last part in the finish line is 'W', better known as 'Wumbo'—" the former Sage's words were cut short as a hand shot out of nowhere and threw him right into a wall. His mechanical suit went through the wall as it crumbled like a biscuit from the force, sending him flying and tumbling along the ground like a ragdoll.

Of course Blanc remained unfazed as she remained seated on her chair as she sighed.

Rising up from his prone position, the lighthearted cheer from Anonydeath's voice never vanished, "My, my, my! That certainly was unexpected."

"If you're going to spout nonsense then I'm obliged to throw this perfectly crafted mahogany table towards you," threatened Blanc yet in a manner similar to conversing about the current weather. In other words, she had enough power to crushed the Sage on the spot into a smear on the ground without even batting an eye.

"What is the purpose of this vacation, dear?" asked the former Sage as he entered through the wall hole he created, "why did you stop working in the first place? Why did you put so much effort to complete two months of paperwork in a mere four hours? What's the point in this all?"

A frown appeared on the Goddess' face as she put down her coffee. Disregarding the flabbergasted looks the other customers were giving her, she kept her eyes fixed on the table as she was deep in thought.

"I'd like to toss you back that last question," she said while keeping her face free of emotion.

This reply only amused Anonydeath further. He approached the girl's table as he tapped his finger on it while replying, "It's to wake you up. The reason you're like this is because you're afraid of losing sight of your hard working image. You're afraid of that certain event in the past from recurring once more. It may not be the reason in which why you're in a slump now yet in your subconscious mind it is different. I admit that we are at fault for that but that was in the past. Do you fear that people will start to see you just like Planeptune's CPU and start to lose faith in you? Sure you are fond of that girl as friend yet you don't seem to like her example. She isn't the best role model though but… in the end this is all I have to say."

Blanc raised her eyebrows as the former Sage retrieved a teapot from a compartment in his suit and pouring it in her mug.

"You worry over nothing," resumed the armored man as he put away the teapot into his armor.

"…." Lowee's CPU rubbed her forehead as she released a heavy sigh, "What a waste of seven hundred words…"

Anonydeath glanced at the wall he had created and sighed too. He then spoke in a dreamy manner, "Indeed. Ah…"

"What's wrong?" asked Blanc as the former Sage held his palm on where his ear was supposed to be. It seemed like he was listening to someone speak on what was similar to a phone.

Turning his attention to the Goddess, Anonydeath then replied, "Would it be okay for you to share your table with another customer? We have one waiting just outside. Oh and the wall will cost forty-thousand credits."

…

"Is that the punch line?"


	4. Chapter 4

"So tell me again why you're here. You're actually the last person I want to see right now. Didn't we have an agreement not to interact with each other?"

"Of course, however said agreement is only in effect within the library's premises. You never actually specified if you wished us to not talk to each other at all, Goddess."

Blanc's peaceful alone time was abruptly disturbed by the arrival of the last person she wished to meet out in the sunny weather. It didn't help that this person seemed to have a few screws loose within her mind and that the demeanor in which said person showed was the one best suited to make her snap. She didn't understand why, yet just by observing the girl whom sat across, it felt like something was gnawing within her mind.

Lowee's Goddess was now in the presence of a young woman with long blue hair and calculating eyes, dressed in a white suit with a gear design and a red necktie. A large black witch hat and wooden staff was propped up just underneath the window while a number of shopping bags were placed beside the Witch herself. The contents of her purchases had a disturbing aura about it, Blanc could almost imagine a face forming in the dark green mist which rose up in the air. Mages merely ignored the CPU's wide eyes as she took a sip of her coffee.

Realizing that she was staring too hard at the shopping bag, Blanc turned her attention elsewhere to think about something else. All she had to do was ignore Mages until she went away. That was what the Goddess did whenever she was in the library, how could it be any different now?

"Goddess, I wish to discuss with you about a number of matters that has been brought to my attention."

_Damn it all! _cursed Blanc internally.

"From the looks of it, it seems like your end of the library has becoming more and more lively by each passing day. Apparently, the previous Final Boss is your acting editor, the air-headed CPU of a nearby nation has taken more interest in you than usual, and finally you have a busty CPU whom may or may not be attracted to you idling about around your workplace… Despite how noisy it would be, I must say, aren't you the popular one? I won't mind if you kept them as company, but I would like to request you and your friends to be much more considerate of the people around you. You're all pretty noisy."

_I should be saying that to you, you four bug eyed hag! _yelled the Goddess within her mind.

"As always, please make sure to clean up. It would be wise to relay this to your harem as well. It's disrespectful to the books if you would flirt with them so openly."

_Harem?! What. The. Hell?! _Squawked the CPU as she tried to process what was just said, _This… This person… Where the hell is she getting these conclusions?!_

"Ah, the sandwiches…" Mages blinked twice and stared at her portion given to her by a man wearing a pink iron suit.

In a cheerful and exaggeratedly feminine tone, Anonydeath, the former member of the Seven Sages, performed a ballet spin before placing the order of the two girls on the table, "Lunch for two~! Enjoy your meal, ladies! Annie, away!"

Just as he was about to merrily skip away, Blanc used the opportunity to vent out her irritation and used her foot to trip him. A loud crash was heard all over the café yet the two girls simply ignored this and continued with their meal. In the distance, they could faintly hear the former Sage lamenting on his bad luck and how he caught it from Rei.

"Anyhow, do you get what I am saying, Goddess? I do hope that with this, we would be able to coexist a little more smoothly," continued the Witch after munching on her toast. After a couple of bites, she raised an eyebrow before examining her it with her eyes, "Not enough butter."

Blanc slammed her fist on the table, catching the blue haired girl by surprise while the table was thankfully left unharmed by some miracle. Her fist shook as her fringe hid her eyes, making it hard to tell what expression she was making now. Underneath her bangs, the Goddess' eyes moved to her far right where most of the café's customers were visible. Gulping down the lump forming in her throat, she did the only thing she could do at the moment without resorting to explosions and brute force.

Smiling with brightly, she then replied, "I understand. I'll be sure to tell my friends your concerns. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."

All around the establishment there were all kinds of reaction, yet the most prominent of them was awe and reverence.

"Whoa, look at her smile! She's so cute!"

"It's like I'm seeing an angel! Am I in heaven?"

"D'aww, I wish my daughter looked just like her! That's Lady Blanc for you!"

"Waiter! How did the chef burn my water?! It tastes like crap!"

Hearing all of these things, Blanc couldn't help but let her eyebrow twitch while maintaining that angelic smile on her lips. She didn't exactly know how long she could keep this up, but she knew that a café wasn't a place to breakdown and rampage in unless she wanted a high decrease in her shares. She had to hide her true emotions until she could find the opportunity to release it on some poor monster. This Witch was pushing her luck a little bit too far.

"That… smile…" began Mages as she stared at the CPU, "I fail to recognize it as one due to the fact that you're merely holding your facial muscles in place while glaring at me as if I were a bug that came out of a trash bin. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Ah, I'm fine, don't worry," assured Blanc before gracefully taking a sip of her coffee and biting a piece of her toast. In her mind though, the following thoughts went by, _YOU BITCH! I'm going to hack your shitty NepBook page and post embarrassing pictures of your on the Internep!_

"Lovely weather we're having," commented the Witch as she glanced out of the window beside her, "It's been peaceful for a long time now, hasn't it?"

_I'm going to get that oversized turtle and—huh?_ The Goddess gave her a confused look at the sudden change of topic. It seemed like that the girl opposite of her had grown tired of the teasing. Thinking up a proper reply, Blanc then said, "Would you rather have it be chaotic? I sure don't."

A bitter smile appearing on her lips, the Witch replied, "My life has always been chaotic, it's just… a strange change of pace living a peaceful one now."

"Is that the reason why you go out of your way to make things around you loud and noisy?" said the CPU as she brought up her past observation about the blue haired girl these few weeks.

"I also like it when it's quiet. I don't mind the noise, it helps me think and relax sometimes. It's as long as no one bothers me in my work that I won't get annoyed," lifting her teacup to her lips, she took a quick sip before continuing, "I'm surprised that you've managed to let your friends stay with your level of patience. Ah, scratch that, I'm surprised that you're friends with them at all."

Blanc averted her eyes as she said, "I'm a Goddess, it won't hurt making a miracle or two. Besides, are you trying to piss me off?"

"What's there to be pissed off about?" shot back Mages in her calm manner. She stared at the girl before right in the eye as she asked, "So tell me, Goddess, you left the library a little earlier than usual. Is there any reason for that?"

"Don't you know that it's rude to pry into somebody else's business?" retaliated the CPU.

"Plutia expy," countered the Witch.

A cold wind blew in from the open entrance. Blanc quietly sat down and hit her forehead on the table. One could imagine her soul floating out of her mouth as her mind overloaded from controlling her anger. She could feel something cracking within her. If this went on as it is then the chances of snapping under the pressure was undoubtedly high.

_I have to get out of here…_ thought Blanc in her desperate mind.

Standing up from her desk, the Goddess kicked off the ground to dash out of the front door… Only to collide with an unfortunate person.

"I'm flying awayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" screamed the unfortunate person as she became a star in the sky.

A great cloud of dust obscured much of the CPU's vision yet she used this as a chance to make her getaway, leaving behind two confused customers at the entrance. Mages walked between the two people at the entrance and stared at the direction in which the Goddess ran off to. Crossing her arms with a sigh, she then shook her head in disappointment.

"Um… Was that your friend, Mages?" asked a busty orange haired beauty with a confused expression.

"Damn, what a way to eat and run," whistled a girl with light green hair and had a black dog tail swaying at her back. She seemed to be acquainted well with the Witch for the way she spoke to her was unusually casual fro strangers, "You think Falcom will be okay? Knowing her luck, she'll wind up somewhere with water so…"

"She can take care of herself," replied Mages as she walked on ahead, "Sorry if I wouldn't be able to stay but a few things came up. Please enjoy your meal."

"O-Oi! Hold on a second!" called the dog tailed girl before slumping her shoulders, "Wow… She really does whatever she likes…"

"That's Mages for you, so what do you say we grab some grub? I'm starving!" cheered the orange haired girl just as she opened the door.

Standing before them was a man clad in a pink mechanical armor, the usually green circuit lines on his person were now bright red as a menacing aura radiated around him. Stooping low as to not hit his head on the entrance, Anonydeath stepped out of the café and stared at the direction the previous girls disappeared to. Turning around, her placed his attention at the two newcomers and grabbed their trembling shoulders.

In a sweet yet poisonous tone he said, "Ahh~ Just what I needed. You see, those two just ate our prized toast-of-the-gods made especially by yours truly. However it seems like they forgot to pay the twenty five thousand credit bill for the meal and the forty thousand credit repair cost for the wall they broke. Seeing as both of you are acquainted with them, I'm sure your undying friendship will be enough to work for what they broke, yes~?"

"H-H-Hold on! Why us?! We know nothing here! Lemme go! I'm not working!" cried C.C. as she struggled under the former Sage's grip.

"This is just a coincidence! Spare us, please!" yelled Marvelous as she used all of her strength to get away, "Why are we the punch line!? Hey! Somebody help us!"

At the distance, a mother and child were walking by. The kid pointed his finger at the two girls and said, "Mommy, the big pink man is pulling them inside!"

"Don't look, dear. They're a bunch of weirdoes," warned the mother while obscuring her child's eyes and walking away.

"We're not weirdoes!" yelled C.C. before her shouts grew fainter and fainter after she entered the café.

Just another day in Lowee.

* * *

"That's all for today, you can leave now."

Blanc had just returned to the library right after here little slump had subsided. She felt grateful to know that Rei was the only one present; she didn't have the time or patience to deal with Vert at the moment. Sitting down on her chair before collapsing on her table, she raised a tired hand as her acting editor said goodbye. It's been a long day and all she wanted to do was look over Rei's finished work and going to sleep. With her head lying sideways on the table, she could see the numerous shelves of the library stand in silence before her.

She had only spent half of her vacation days and she had already finished her novel. The thoughts of what she would be doing for the rest of her vacation were slowly popping up within her mind. She considered asking her alternate self on something to keep her mind busy. But then again, knowing her personality was close to her other self's, she could imagine herself telling her off and making her write another book. Then again, who said she couldn't write another book when her first one has finished?

"That's…. right…" mumbled Blanc as she slowly pushed herself up from the table. Rubbing the drowsiness from her eyes, she looked around her for a few moments. From the looks of it, it seemed like she fell asleep for a good while. She had the entire library all to herself since she didn't even catch a sound from the far end of the east wing. Mages wasn't probably back yet so she had a short time of peace before the explosions start anew. Looking at the nearby clock, time flew by without her noticing it. Standing up from her table, she headed towards Rei's workplace to gather the edited manuscript and inspect it.

Only to open an empty drawer filled with nothing but air.

"What… The…. Hell…?"

Suffice to say that an unfortunate chair had a chance meeting with a wall as the Goddess stomped her way out of her area. Books and shelves alike shook with each step she took, it didn't help when she broke into a run. She recalled the time on the wall clock just before she left. She fell asleep for a good thirty minutes after Rei had gone home so it was possible had entered the library to steal it. It was impossible for it to disappear at any time other than that since Rei was working on it the whole day, it couldn't have left her sight.

Her chances her small, but she had to check if the manuscripts had found their way to _that_ place. Walking across the main hall and public area, the Goddess made her between a set of shelves while the smell of gunpowder and chemicals became stronger and stronger with each step. She then came face to face with a steel door in what should have been a dead end according to the library's blueprints. Blanc merely placed the thought of yelling at the Witch for creating an extension of her public building without her consent later after she finished beating the girl senseless for taking things that weren't hers.

Blanc kicked down the metal door and yelled, "Kiss the ground or else I'll thrash this place kingdom come!"

Mages froze in place the moment the Goddess came in, her surprise causing her mind to whiteout and forget to turn off the television which continued to play a cooking show.

_**Now the best way to cook a live dogoo is by grabbing it by its nose like so~…**_

***CENSORED SOUND EFFECTS***

_**And make sure to add a dash of Nep Salt for that tasty southern Leanbox style~. Though make sure to have your ear plugs on for dogoos are sensitive to sodium chloride and may cause them to howl like—**_

**WRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~~~~!**

_**Oh noes~! Histy, don't move the camera so much, it's annoying the audiences~!**_

_**Sorry! But please, silence the ingredient! The earplugs you gave me are simply too big!**_

_**Heh, that's what she said…**_

_**Silence, IF! Plutia, the dogoo!**_

**WROOOOOOOOOOOO~~~~~!**

***TRANSFORMATION SOUNDS***

_**You noisy dog, I'll teach you to ruin somebody else's cooking show! Come here **_***censored due to graphic amounts of gore and dogoo abuse***

_**Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!**_

_**IF, come back here, I require your assistance! Plutia! The Horsebird is still alive! You cannot just—**_

The Goddess turned her attention at the Witch whom currently had the plug of the television in her hand. The two stared deep into each other's eyes as the atmosphere grew heavier and heavier. One could imagine electric sparks colliding before the two of them as the silence reached its peak.

Finally, it was the blue haired girl whom broke the ice between them, "You did not see anything."

Blanc shut the door once and waited for a few seconds. Her mind was still blank with shock, not minding the noises and crashes that went on the other side of the door.

_That was horror movie, right? Yes, it was horror movie… It's gotta be… _she thought as she composed her breathing. Placing her hand at the door, she opened it once more to find the inside a bit more tolerable to her eyes. Books were stacked neatly on a blue table while a pewter gray cauldron bubbled with a strange green liquid inside it. The walls were completely filled with bookshelves leaving no space uncovered save the cauldron's area. Reagents and artifacts lay scattered all around a lone work desk cluttered with research papers.

There was no sign of the television set anywhere.

Sitting just behind the work desk with a bored look on her face, Mages turned her attention at the Goddess and said, "Oh… It's only you—Kya!"

"What the hell do you mean it's only me?!" roared Blanc as she grabbed a chunk of the wall and tossed it, "What is it with you that you can act as if nothing happened?! Dogoo abuse is illegal you know! Didn't you catch the shitty announcement those Pro Monster Groups made us go hell through?! And give me back my manuscript you thieving skank! I'll fucking kill you and leave your shitty carcass hanging for the Guard Dragons to eat and choke on! Give it back, damn it! Give it back or I'll blow this place up!"

"You have a surprisingly immature side like a toddler. Are you sure you're not jumping into conclusions?!" protested the Witch as she summoned a barrier to ward off the incoming wall chunks. Blinking twice, she turned to the landline on her table and took it, "Yes, this is Magus. I have the shipment right here, I just have to rid of myself of a troublesome being. Make sure those people don't get their hands on these assassination lists."

"Oi! Who the hell are you talking to?! The fucking telephone line's not plugged in, you dolt! And why the hell are you changing your name?!" yelled the Goddess as she continued her assault, resorting to launching books at high velocity.

Mages clicked her tongue in disappointment, "Tch, she caught on… Guess I'll have to go out with a bang…"

"Stop acting like a damn chuunibyou! You're not making any sense!" snapped Blanc.

"Then I'd like you to stop throwing baseless accusations—"

"LOOK AT YOUR DAMNED HAND!"

Actually flinching at the animosity in the CPU's tone, the blue haired girl turned her attention at her hand which was maintaining her barrier. Within her grasp was a stack of paper, disheveled from poor handling. Staring back and forth from the papers in her hand to Blanc, her mouth then formed a comical 'O'.

"So… These aren't assassination lists from the Organization?"

"LIKE HELL THEY ARE!"

Blanc stomped the ground so hard in her rage that the entire room shook. This caused Mages to lose her balance and step back, only to slip and fall, forcing her to let go of the papers. It was like everything went into slow motion as the wad of papers flew across the air. The two girls could only stare as the manuscript made a suicidal dive towards the boiling cauldron. Kicking off the ground, the Goddess transformed into her HDD to increase her speed, hoping that she'll make it in time.

Her heartbeat was pounding against her ears, thoughts of her work which she gave blood, sweat and tears to complete be destroyed so easily invaded her mind. She couldn't afford losing it, she wouldn't know what she would do then. She just needed to clear… the last… five inches and…

_**PLOP**_

"Oops…" Mages peered into her bubbling cauldron to see if the manuscript was still salvageable. Glancing at her side, she awkwardly scratched her head before giving the trembling Goddess beside her a brief pat on the shoulder, "Would you like to send a Nep-mail to the past to prevent this from happening?"

"Damn you…" growled Blanc, she was a split second away from choking the Witch to death when she felt something sticky on her shoe. Bearing disgusted look, the CPU lifted her foot to move away yet was overwhelmed by shock once she realized what she was stepping on, "What… The… Hell?"

"Ah, it fell into the Mobile Cauldron and turned to jelly… No wonder it disappeared," commented the Witch as she poked the jellified manuscript. Standing up without warning and posing with gusto, she declared, "The experiment was a succe—KYA!"

"Like hell it was!" spat the CPU, using the flat part of her axe to hit the blue haired girl.

* * *

"I see… So it wasn't an assassination list with my head in it."

"How many times will I tell you it's not like that!"

After Blanc's spectacular break down had subsided, the two girls were now having a quiet discussion in the middle of the main hall. It turned out that Mages had performed a strange spell which connected the library to her original house via the steel door which the Goddess had previously destroyed. Not only was the Witch in trouble for taking the CPU's manuscript without permission, but she was left without any means of going home to continue her research due to a large amount of books waiting to be transported through the door. She would have to stay the night in the library until she could repair the damages on her door.

Collapsing on a table with her arms stretched out, Mages uttered a heavy sigh as she lamented, "I want to go home…"

"You dug yourself into that hole, get yourself out," snapped Blanc as she typed on her computer as fast as she could. She had to make up for the story she lost and it was all this girl's fault, "You could always go home, you know? WALK ALL THE WAY TO PLANEPTUNE 'CAUSE I AIN'T GONNA LET YOU USE MY DAMNED COUNTRY'S SERVICES!"

"Can't… I need those books with me so I can freely conduct my experiment…" moaned the Witch.

_Damn, can't you just do something about it? You're a Witch! You're supposed to solve your problems with magic! _

"As much as I'd like to do that, I can't. Warding the attacks of debris imbued with the power of a Goddess could be really tiring."

Blanc froze at the Witch's candid reply. Within her shocked mind, the following thoughts went by, _Did she just read my mind?_

"Of course I did, it's not really that hard, you know? You are like an open book, so easy to read."

"Stop reading my mind, dammit!" the Goddess formed a fragment of ice within he palm and threw it at the girl behind her.

Judging from the clanging noise behind her, the ice she tossed was easily blocked by Mages. She didn't have time to deal with the nuisance so she put all of her attention her story. Blanc glanced at the clock in her machine every now and then and saw how the minutes flew by as if they were seconds. She flipped through her notes and references so she knew if she was still going in the right track. She barely cleared the first eight chapters of her novel and she still had fifty two more to go.

Dragging Rei into this again would be too much since the girl just finished today. There's too much work to finish in just a short time, it was impossible to wrap everything up by the end of the week.

"Ah, so you're making another assassination's list?"

"Won't you shut up for a fucking seco— How'd you sneak up behind me?!"

The Goddess almost fell out of her chair at Mages' appearance if not for the blue haired girl's quick reaction. The world came to a halt as Lowee's CPU stared deep into the Witch's bright blue eyes, for some reason she found them alluring as they stared back at her. Her face felt like melting as the warmth of Mages' hand transferred into her own as it held her tightly. Just what the hell was with this kind of situation?

"Let go—"

_**THUD**_

"—OW! Why'd you do that, you dolt?!"

Keeping her eyes on the computer with an indifferent expression, Mages calmly replied, "You said to let go, didn't you? Congrue…"

"I never meant that way! Shit… At least be more delicate," huffed Blanc as she stood up from the ground. She tensed once she realized that the Witch was peering into her unfinished work, causing her to panic in fear of the previous accident to occur again, "What do you think you're doing?! Get the hell away from there or else I'll—"

"Trash…" whispered the blue haired girl. The Goddess went white with her jaw hanging. It didn't help that the Witch looked straight into her eyes and said, "This is utter garbage if you looked at it as a story. Are you seriously not considering this as a plan to kill a person?"

Mages was caught by surprise as the CPU just grabbed her by her collar, pulling her down to the other girl's height. However in her eyes she didn't see a Goddess of absolute power, before her was a trembling girl with a look that could only be described as fragile.

Parting her lips, Blanc let out a shaky growl, "How… D-Dare you… I told you it's not like that! Can't you listen to me just for once?! You're fucking annoying me!"

"Then why don't I help you instead?" asked the Witch, cutting through the girl's verbal assault.

"Say what?" squawked the Goddess as her grip loosened on the blue haired girl's collar.

Brushing her clothes, Mages let out a sigh while folding her arms, "You're hopeless, beyond hopeless, so hopeless that your so called editor doesn't even see it. If you were to publish this to the masses now then you'll only embarrass yourself. Just take a look at the plot. It's only focus is on one character as if the entire universe is revolving around him. I've only read as far as the tenth paragraph but I could already feel my brain shutting down. Your paragraphs are barely readable with all the big words that you write up. Hey, are you listening?"

"H-huh? What? You're… Everything you just said right now…. Are they all true?" asked Blanc, she felt as if her knees would give away any moment now. Yet something was stopping her from breaking down completely, she kept her eyes fixed on the Witch before her as she waited for an answer.

"And you call yourself an author. Tell me, have you read any novel that looks remotely like yours?" Mages simply tossed back a question to her.

Turning her attention at the open laptop, the Goddess stared at her unfinished work_._ The gears within her mind began to turn as thoughts sprung to life_, Were the paragraphs supposed to be that long? Will the reader understand all of these big words? Does the sentence structure make any sense? Hold on, why aren't any of my words consistent? The emotions are stiff and the flow is all jumbled…. Did I…. really write all of this?_

"No… way…." Lowee's CPU slowly shook her head in disbelief, "It's not supposed to be like this."

Placing a hand on the Goddess' shoulder, Mages denied her feeble words, "I've read the finished manuscript after I took it from your drawer. I was just curious as to what you were working on despite our initial agreement." Walking a few steps away from the brown haired girl, she turned around and said, "If that was meant to be a novel, then I can't find anything different on it from the one you made now. They're the same. This is the result of your extensive research and self-taught training. You've only been writing for a few weeks, did you really expect to become a professional in such a little time without any experience?"

Blanc didn't answer and remained silent, averting her eyes with a defeated sigh.

"However there is a chance…" continued the Witch, "You can still improve, you know? I'll be able to give you the required assista—"

"Don't need it…" deadpanned the Goddess as she went back to work.

…

"You really didn't think it through, huh?" muttered Mages with a look of disappointment.

"That's where you're wrong though," Blanc highlighted her unfinished work and pressed the right click button, "I gave it some thought, but then I realized that I don't need anyone's help. As always, I'm fine with doing everything by myself."

"Then why did you hire Rei to oversee your petty mistakes?" asked the Witch.

"That doesn't count!" yelled the Goddess before sinking back into her chair, "I just want people to recognize that I've done all myself. Those times when Neptune needed to bail me out of my own nation's problems, those times when I would need their help whenever I was too weak to fight, I never did anything on my own. I'm… glad that they're there but sometimes, I just want to do thing my way…"

"That's… a very selfish wish…"

"I am a very selfish person after all."

"You know, if you're like that, you will never get anything done. You will be stuck in a never ending limbo of self torture. Is that what you want?"

"I can try and try and try. This isn't something I should be taking serious anyway. If I embarrass myself then so be it. It might actually be a good experience. That's how it's always been, I learn from my mistakes."

Blanc erased her unfinished work and let out a sigh. She turned to look at the girl beside her and gave her a smile, "I doubt that I'll change just because you told me to."

Sighing in defeat, Mages rubbed her forehead as she asked, "No matter how much time I spend with you CPUs, I could never get used to your unpredictable behaviors."

"Hn, maybe that's what sets us apart from you humans," replied the Goddess as she created a brand new document.

The Witch blinked at the CPU's back before shrugging her shoulders. She then turned to walk away from the girl, the sounds of the keyboard typing echoing behind her back.

_**Takatakatakatakatakatakatak.**_

Coming to a halt, she glanced behind her to look at Blanc's sitting figure. She tilted her head in confusion as she asked, "Something wrong?"

…

"The agreement, I'm lifting it. So tomorrow, you better help me out. Goddess orders."

Mages' indifferent face formed a smile as she walked away. Blanc never saw this as she kept her focus on her brand new story. Her fingers hovered above her keyboard as she thought back unto what she had just said. Now that she put more thought in it, why did she say that all of a sudden? Was it a spur of the moment?

One thing's for sure, even in the future she never knew why she had said that.

* * *

_Nicolas Notes:_

_Steins;Gate references, Steins;Gate references everywhere._


End file.
